One Magic Christmas
by Dani-Ellie03
Summary: "There's a one-horse open sleigh outside, I'm assuming ready to take us dashing through the snow, like Mom said. And now three ships have come sailing in." Emma got it before everyone else. "Christmas carols are coming to life, aren't they?" (or, Hope makes a Christmas wish and magic happens)
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** One Magic Christmas  
 **Summary:** "There's a _one-horse open sleigh_ outside, I'm assuming ready to take us _dashing through the snow_ , like Mom said. And now _three ships_ have _come sailing in_." Emma got it before everyone else. "Christmas carols are coming to life, aren't they?"  
 **Spoilers:** Post-series, so if you've seen everything, we're good.  
 **Rating/Warning:** K+. Family fluff, as per usual.  
 **Disclaimer:** _Once Upon a Time_ and its characters were created by Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and are owned by ABC. I simply borrowed them when they weren't looking but I'll put them back when I'm done, I promise!  
 **Author's Note:** I have no idea where this plotbunny came from but it was so insistent that I had to indulge it. Here be holiday fluff and silliness (which I hope works because humor is not my strong suit). The title is snagged from one of my favorite childhood Christmas movies, though the plot is not at all similar. Feedback is a writer's Christmas present! Enjoy, and happy holidays. :)

* * *

Hope Swan-Jones _loved_ Christmas.

The few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the lights and the colors and the music, was her favorite time of year. She adored decorating the tree with her parents; they always put enough lights on it that they could read by Christmas tree light! A couple weekends before Christmas, her grandmother would take her shopping for presents and and then they'd bake sugar cookies when they got home. At Hope's insistence, she and her dad wrapped the rails of the _Jolly Roger_ in Christmas lights. Thanks to her mom's sweet tooth, there was always some form of chocolate in the candy dish and every night from the first of December all the way through Christmas Eve, her mom made the family peppermint cocoa before bed.

Yes, it was her absolute favorite time of the year.

The only problem was that her mom didn't share her enthusiasm for the season. Oh, Emma tried, of course. She put up the Christmas tree and the wreaths and the advent calenders. She set out Christmas tchotchkes on the end tables and wrapped thick red ribbons around the porch columns so they looked like candy canes. She strung lights on the bushes outside and along the picket fence and she lined the walkway with big plastic snowflakes that lit up. But there was always a sadness behind Emma's eyes that only Hope and her dad could see, one Hope wished more than anything in the world that she could take away.

Take right now, for instance. As part of their traditional Christmas Eve festivities, Hope and her parents were spending the afternoon and evening at the farmhouse with her grandparents and uncle Neal, enjoying a huge dinner – with all those sugar cookies for dessert – and playing party games until they were all doing more yawning than talking. (In previous years, Hope had fallen asleep early and had to be carried out to the car but she was nine now. She could totally stay up until it was time to leave this year.)

Snow had shooed everyone outside so she could cook so Hope, Emma, Killian, Charming, and Neal had all gathered on the small pond behind the house, ice skates on their feet. Neal chased Hope back and forth across the pond in an effort to teach her to increase her skating speed. Charming and Killian skated the edge of the pond in leisurely laps, keeping their eye on the kids in case they got too rowdy. But Emma stood off to the side, watching everyone with that wistful sadness behind her eyes.

Hope was both worried about her mom and trying to stay ahead of her uncle, which was not a very safe combination. She didn't realize how close she was coming to her grandfather until she skated right into him. They both tumbled to the ground. A flailing Charming almost took Killian with him but the former pirate managed to stay on his skates. He did, however, crouch down to tend to his little girl.

"Hope!" Charming cried, his gloved hands reaching out for his granddaughter. "Are you all right?"

Killian, Neal, and Charming all helped her up. A concerned Emma had started across the pond on her skates as well but stopped when it was clear the guys had it under control. "I'm okay," Hope insisted, an embarrassed flush coloring her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I should have been paying more attention."

"I shouldn't have chased you so close to them," Neal said apologetically.

"It's all right, little mate," Killian insisted. "You were both playing nicely. No one's any worse for the wear."

"That's right," Charming confirmed. He brushed the debris off his coat and smiled down at his son and granddaughter. "I think I need to take a little break, though. I don't know about anyone else but my legs are tired."

"Mine, too," Neal admitted.

Hope nodded in agreement. Skating away from Neal was a lot of fun but it also took a lot out of her!

Charming and Neal skated back towards Emma, who managed to come back to herself enough at their approach to wipe the sadness from her face. Killian rested his hand on the small of Hope's back. "You ready to head back as well, little love?"

Hope's gaze darted from her mother to her father. "Yeah, sure, but can I ask you something first?"

"Of course."

"Is there something we can do to make Mommy happier about Christmas?"

Killian's eyes registered surprise at the question, touched affection for his daughter, and sadness for his wife all at once. "I don't know that there is, little love. Christmas is very hard for your mother."

"I know." Her mom hadn't found her family until she was all grown up, which must have made for a lot of lonely Christmases when she was a kid. It wasn't surprising, then, that Christmas wasn't Emma's favorite holiday.

"She's gotten more comfortable with it over the years." Killian twirled a few of the blonde curls that had peeked out from beneath Hope's winter hat around his gloved fingers. "I attribute a lot of that to you."

Hope fixed her father with a bewildered stare. "To me?"

"Aye. Creating holiday traditions with you has eased some of that ache for her, I think."

That got Hope to smile. "I'm glad, then. I just wish we could do something special for her, you know? Maybe something to make this Christmas special so she likes it even more next year."

Before Killian could say another word, the skies opened up. Everyone cried out in surprise as thick white flakes fell fast and furious, obstructing their view of the farmhouse in front of them and each other. "Bloody hell," Killian muttered, fumbling for her daughter's hand. "Come, little love. We have to get inside."

Hope couldn't see a thing through the flurry of white. She skated blindly, letting her dad lead her by the hand to the edge of the pond. A moment later, Hope felt her mom grasp her other hand. "Are you two okay?" Emma asked.

"Aye, love," Killian answered. "This is odd, though. I didn't know there was snow in the forecast for today."

"There wasn't," Emma replied.

They'd reached the end of the pond. "Hope, love, I'm going to pick you up and carry you back to the house, all right?"

"Okay, Daddy." She wasn't all that good at walking in her skates, which must have been why her dad wanted to carry her.

After a mad dash through the yard in the blinding snow, the entire family burst into the farmhouse. They shook clumps of the white stuff from their clothes and hair, shivering in the warmth of the heated kitchen. "Oh my, are you all right?" Snow asked, drying her hands on a dish towel.

Upon spying the state of her snow-shocked family, she instantly went into fluttering grandmother mode. "Wet clothes off." As everyone stripped off their coats, hats, scarves, and gloves, she retrieved a laundry basket and gathered the discarded items.

"We're fine, Mom," Emma said as Snow tucked the wet garments into the dryer and started the cycle. "Just surprised."

"And cold," Neal added through a shiver. He took a deep breath through his nose and smiled. "Mom, It smells so good in here!"

It really did. Christmas Eve dinner was always cheese ravioli, meatballs and sausages, and garlic bread. The warm aromas of simmering tomato sauce and baking bread filled the air. Hope's stomach growled; she couldn't wait for dinner!

"Thank you," Snow smiled. "I can't believe the weather, though! Looks like we'll have a white Christmas after all."

Something clicked in Hope's brain, making her snap to attention. Just as quickly as the thought had come, though, she dismissed it. This was just a freak winter storm; they happened on occasion. Nothing to worry about.

"I'm going to get a fire going in the fireplace," Charming said, ducking past his family to head to the living room. "That should take the chill out of our bones."

"Can I help build it?" Neal asked.

"Sure thing, kid."

Again, Hope frowned. Building a fire in the fireplace to warm them up while snow fell outside sounded like a wonderful idea but it also sounded … kind of familiar.

Hope followed her parents into the living room to sit in front of the fire. While her parents cuddled on the couch and her grandfather and uncle built the fire, Hope stood beside the Christmas tree at the front window and watched the snow. The freak storm had already slowed down; the flakes were still thick and heavy but they lazily drifted to the ground. The damage had been done, though, as the street was covered with a thick blanket of white.

After a moment, Hope heard the distinct sound of jingle bells somewhere outside. And then to her shock, a single horse trotted up to the house pulling an actual sleigh. "Oh my God!"

The rest of her family gathered around the window at her cry. "Where did that come from?" Neal asked. Behind him, Killian shrugged.

Snow had come running from the kitchen. "Oh, Charming, you shouldn't have!" she exclaimed.

"I didn't," Charming admitted, his tone as bewildered as his son's.

Five sets of eyes landed on Emma. "Don't look at me," she said, holding her hands up in surrender. "Does dashing through the snow in a legit sleigh sound like something I'd plan?"

Once again, there was that click in Hope's brain. First the snow, then the fire, now this? Something was going on.

The ringtone of her father's phone interrupted her train of thought. Killian ducked away from the window to take the call. His voice was a murmur but when he returned, he said, "Now that's odd."

"What's odd?" Emma asked.

"That was Leroy. He asked if I'd had knowledge of three ships coming in to make berth in the harbor for the night."

Three ships? At Christmas? Oh _no_. "Guys, I think I know what's going on," Hope said.

"What?" Emma asked.

"Well, first we had the snowstorm come out of nowhere, right? So all of a sudden we have a _white Christmas_ and we're building a fire that is _so delightful_ while we _let it snow._ Then, there's a _one-horse open sleigh_ outside, I'm assuming ready to take us _dashing through the snow_ , like Mom said. And now _three ships_ have _come sailing in_."

Emma got it before everyone else. "Christmas carols are coming to life, aren't they?"

"I mean, I don't know for sure but yeah, I think so."

Emma sighed. "Wonderful."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the reviews and follows and favorites! You guys are the best. :) Here's the next part!

* * *

"This is a disaster," Emma muttered at the same time as Hope exclaimed, "This is awesome!"

Emma gave her daughter a scowl. "You won't think it's so awesome when Frosty the Snowman all of a sudden comes thumpity-thump-thumping down Main Street."

Snow, Charming, and Killian all swallowed chuckles. "I'm pretty sure that's like, the very definition of awesome, Emma," Neal said as Hope nodded in excited agreement.

"Okay, well, what if someone really wants a hippopotamus for Christmas? This isn't exactly a hippo's natural habitat, you know." Suddenly Emma's eyes widened. "And how to the letter are these things coming true? Because if I remember correctly, Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary were on the ships that came sailing in and I gotta tell you, I don't think I'm ready for the Second Coming."

"All right," Snow said, resting a hand on her panicking daughter's shoulder, "let's just take a breath. It's obviously not following exactly to the letter because the ships come sailing in on Christmas Day in the song, correct?"

"On Christmas Day in the morning," Hope nodded.

Snow smiled at her granddaughter. "All right, then. This is clearly magic of some kind–"

"I didn't do it," Emma interrupted.

"She wasn't saying you did, love," Killian assured her.

No, Emma didn't do it. She was too freaked out by the whole thing to have even thought of it. _But hold on_ , Hope thought. Why would anyone do this? What could be gained by bringing Christmas songs to life?

Chaos, maybe. Things hadn't always been so calm in Storybrooke, after all. Hope had heard all the stories of how villains used to come here and try to take over or whatever. Was this some kind of new, weird attack?

Then again, the snow had been falling for a while now and there had been no further attack. And really, of everything that had happened so far, only the sudden snow squall was potentially dangerous. A fire in the fireplace warmed everyone. Ships pulled into harbors all the time. And unless someone fell out of it, how could a sleigh ride hurt anyone? Sleigh rides were special.

Wait a second. _Special …_

The snow had started right after Hope had said she wished she could make Christmas special for her mom!

Had _she_ somehow made the Christmas songs come to life?

"Maybe we should call Regina and see if she's ever heard of anything like this," Charming said softly.

"I'll call her," Snow offered. "With the snow squall, I need to ask her if she thinks she's still going to be able to come for dinner anyway."

"We could always send the sleigh to pick her up," Neal said with a shrug, causing Snow to laugh and ruffle his hair. Emma rolled her eyes.

A nervous Hope followed her grandmother into the kitchen while she made the call. She took a seat at the table and listened intently to Snow's side of the conversation.

No, Regina had never heard of anything like this before but yes, it did seem to be magic of some kind. Regina didn't even have an inkling as to who would have cast this kind of spell. It clearly hadn't been Emma or Regina and Gold would have eaten his socks before casting a spell as whimsical as this one. Unable to contain herself any longer, Hope burst out, "Does she think I could have done it?"

Snow turned a bewildered look on her granddaughter. "Sweetheart, why would you think you did this?" Something Regina said must have caught her attention because she said into the phone, "Yes, that was Hope."

A beat later, Snow handed the phone to Hope. "She wants to talk to you."

"Hi, Auntie Regina," Hope said into the receiver, a nervous tremor in her voice.

"Hello, dear. Your grandmother tells me you think you might have something to do with the Christmas carols?"

"I mean, I don't know if I really did but right before it started snowing – like _right_ before – I was telling Daddy how much I wished we could make this Christmas special for Mommy so she would like it more."

Snow let out a soft gasp, the expression on her face one of both touched love for her granddaughter and longing ache for her baby girl.

"And no sooner had you said it than the snow started falling, giving us a white Christmas."

"After that, a one-horse open sleigh just arrived out of nowhere and three ships came sailing in, yeah."

"Congratulations," Regina said, a little smile in her voice, "you just worked your first magic spell."

She had? She knew she should be proud and excited but frankly, she was terrified! "But I didn't even realize I was doing it! Is there anything we can do to, you know, take it back?"

"I don't know, Hope. We might just have to wait this out. If the intention was to give Emma a special Christmas, everything should go back to normal on the 26th."

"So, for today and tomorrow?"

"Looks like we get to enjoy the chaos."

"I didn't mean to."

"I know that, dear. You're young and just starting to get a handle on your magic. These things happen."

"Okay, thanks."

Hope handed the phone back to her grandmother and waited for Snow to finish the call. (Yes, Regina would still be able to come for dinner and she planned on bringing some peanut clusters for dessert.) She fidgeted nervously, switching her weight from one foot to the other. Holy cow, she'd royally screwed up. She was going to be in _so_ much trouble.

But when Snow hung up the phone, she gave her granddaughter a tender smile and opened her arms. A relieved Hope ran into her grandmother's waiting embrace and squeezed her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Gramma."

"Hey, none of that now." Snow pulled out of the hug and sat down at the kitchen table. She grasped Hope's hands and pulled her close, looking her in the eye. "There's nothing to be sorry about. Magical mistakes happen around here. Heck, if they didn't, your mom and Queen Elsa wouldn't be friends."

At that, Hope smiled. She'd only heard that story about a million times.

"Wanting to do something special for your mom was really sweet," Snow continued, tucking an unruly lock of hair behind Hope's ear. "It's exactly what Christmas is all about. And even though this isn't what you meant, you really are giving her a special Christmas."

"But she seems mad."

"She's not mad, honey," Snow assured her, "and she won't be mad at you, if that's what you're worried about. This is just how she reacts when she finds out that things she thought were fiction are in fact real."

Hope let out a breath of relief. "Like Snow White and Prince Charming?" she asked somewhat cheekily.

"And Captain Hook," Snow laughed, "and look how finding out we were real turned out for her."

Finally, Hope smiled.

"There's my girl. Now, we should get back in there. I'm sure everyone's wondering where we are. Come on, sweetheart." Snow pushed herself to her feet and held her hand out to her granddaughter. A smile tugged at her lips when Hope grasped it and held on tight.

Once in the living room, however, Hope's nervousness returned. Her stomach did a flip-flop when Emma asked, "So, what did she say?"

How could Hope explain that she'd done this herself without meaning to? And how could she explain how it had happened without telling her mom that all she'd wanted was for her to like Christmas better?

It all ended up coming out in a rush. "This whole thing is my fault! I told Daddy I wanted to do something special for you so you'd like Christmas better and then it started snowing and Regina said I did it with my magic but I didn't know I was doing it, I swear! Regina thinks everything will go back to normal after tomorrow but I didn't mean to, Mommy. I didn't know I was using my magic, I swear I didn't."

A stunned Emma and Killian glanced at each other and as one, knelt down in front of their little girl and wrapped her in a hug. "Oh, little love, it's all right," Killian murmured into his daughter's ear.

But Hope didn't relax until her mom whispered, "It's okay, kiddo. It's okay."

Tears spilled from Hope's eyes, tears of relief and joy. Her mom wasn't mad at her! She wasn't in trouble. Her parents pulled out of the hug and Emma reached up to dry Hope's tears. "I think it's really nice that you wanted to do something special for me. You certainly got your wish; this Christmas is going to be _very_ special."

"It is?"

Her parents exchanged another look. "Aye, little love, it is," Killian said, smiling. "After all, we have a sleigh ride to go on and a winter wonderland to walk through–"

"And a Christmas tree to rock around," Charming added.

"Yeah, we can do the Jingle Bell Rock!" Neal exclaimed.

That got Hope to giggle.

"We'll have ourselves a merry little Christmas," Emma smiled, "and it's all thanks to you."

Hope smiled, wrapping her parents in another tight hug.

"Uh, guys?" Neal said, his tone half-uncertain and half- bewildered. Something passing by the house had caught his attention.

Hope and her parents joined her uncle at the window. Snow and Charming stood behind them, craning to see around their family members. Outside, a young boy strode down the street, undisturbed by the falling snow and banging a rhythm on a toy snare drum that hung at his waist from a strap draped over the back of his neck.

"If he's going down to the harbor to play for Jesus in the sailing ships," Emma muttered, "I'm out."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I hope you've all enjoyed this little story! Thank you for being the awesome readers that you are, and I hope your holidays are magical as well. :)

* * *

"I call first dibs on the sleigh!" Neal exclaimed as he ran out the door, doing his best to show his niece how excited he was at the opportunity to go dashing through the snow in an actual one-horse open sleigh.

"Nuh uh!" Hope giggled as she followed him. "I conjured it. I should get to go first."

"We'll all go," Charming laughed. "It'll be a tight squeeze but we should all be able to fit."

The sleigh boasted two benches facing each other. Snow, Charming, and Neal all squeezed in on one side while Emma, Killian, and Hope bundled into the other. The snow was still falling, thick white flakes drifting lazily to the ground. A couple of snowflakes caught on Hope's eyelashes and she blinked them away.

"Wait a sec," Emma said after everyone had gotten situated. "Who's driving?"

As if her words had somehow activated another spell, the horse started trotting forward. "Apparently magically conjured horses don't need to be commanded," Killian replied, sending his daughter a proud grin.

Hope beamed.

The horse pulled them through her grandparents' quiet neighborhood. Since the earlier snow squall had temporarily suspended road travel, they had the entire street to themselves. After a few minutes of quiet travel, Hope glanced over at her parents. Emma had snuggled into Killian and rested her head on his shoulder. She looked content, even peaceful, a small smile on her lips. Hope also cuddled into her dad and Killian wrapped his arm around her, hugging both his girls. Though the wind biting Hope's cheek was crisp, she was warm as could be.

The horse circled back to the farmhouse far too soon. Hope actually pouted when the sleigh drew to a stop outside the house. She wanted this moment to last forever and ever.

"That was the best sleigh ride I've ever been on," Emma said after everyone had disembarked.

"Like you have so many other sleigh rides to compare it to," Neal teased.

Emma stuck her tongue out at her little brother, making everyone laugh.

The horse trotted off, though where it was going was anyone's guess. No one seemed to want to go inside. It was Charming who suggested taking a walk around the fields before dinner. "Maybe Hope and Neal could build a snowman," he said, winking at the children, who smiled at each other.

"Just don't name him Parson Brown," Emma smirked, "or outfit him with a corncob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal."

"But we want Frosty to go thumpity-thump-thumping down Main Street," Neal teased, throwing his sister's words back at her.

"All right, then you guys are the ones who can clean up after him."

Hope and Neal spent the next hour building the most perfect snowman Storybrooke had ever seen, despite the lack of corncob pipes or magic hats. Every so often, Hope glanced up from the task and searched through the lightly falling snow for her parents. To her relief and joy, Emma seemed to be enjoying herself. "You did good, Hope," Neal assured her after catching her looking for the third time. "She'll never forget this Christmas."

"Well, yeah. How often do Christmas songs come to life?"

"Right but that's not why she'll remember it. Not really," Neal said with a shrug. Hope frowned at him. "She'll remember it because you did something nice for her. I know you didn't mean to do all of this but you wanted to do something nice, and that's what matters."

Hope smiled. "Thanks, Uncle Neal."

"You're welcome, squirt," Neal replied, bestowing upon her the same loving nickname that Emma called him.

* * *

Dinner was delicious, as it always was. Dessert was even better. Once everyone had eaten their fill of cookies, pies, and peanut clusters, Emma and Killian told Hope that it was time to leave. "No," she whined, "can't we stay just a little bit longer?"

"Afraid not, little love," Killian said. "We have to get you home and in bed so you'll be asleep when Santa comes."

Hope hid a smile. She knew that her mom and dad gave her presents and said they were from Santa Claus. She'd figured it out last year when she noticed that Santa and her mom had the same handwriting. They knew she knew, too, because she told them after Christmas as they were taking down the tree. Still, as they say, old habits die hard. If her dad wanted to pretend that she still believed in Santa Claus, she would happily go along with it.

After a round of goodbyes and firming up of times to meet tomorrow afternoon for Christmas dinner, Emma, Killian, and Hope bundled into the Bug and headed for home.

The snowy roads made the trip slow-going. Emma and Killian chatted up front but Hope let her mind wander as she stared out at the winter wonderland her accidental magic spell had created. As Emma drew the Bug to a stop at a light, Hope let her gaze drift to the rooftop of the house across the street.

A flash of red light caught her eye, causing her to snap to attention. She craned her neck and tried to get a better view of the house's roof but she couldn't see anything else from her angle. A flash of red on the rooftop … it couldn't be, could it?

The car pulled away from the light and Hope whipped around to look out the back windshield. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see much of anything. "What's the matter, Hope?" Emma asked, glancing up at her daughter in the rearview mirror.

"Nothing," Hope murmured, "I just thought I saw …" She trailed off as she turned to face front. "Never mind, forget it."

Her parents shared a look but neither of them said anything.

Once home, Emma had Hope set out the homemade sugar cookies and milk for Santa and a raw carrot for Rudolph. They'd told her last year that after she went to bed, they poured the milk back into the gallon and returned the cookies to the Tupperware container. Killian, however, actually ate the carrot. It felt a little silly to set these things out knowing they were just going to be put back but it was still fun, a little Christmas tradition that didn't have to change even though Hope now knew the truth.

After her parents tucked her in, Hope lay in the darkness for a long moment. This Christmas Eve had been _really_ fun. Now she understood why a song about going on a sleigh ride was still so popular all those years after it had been written! Sleigh rides were a blast and building a snowman after walking through a lightly falling snow was a magic all to itself.

And speaking of magic, just as Hope was drifting off, she swore she heard sleigh bells and the shuffling of something above her head on the roof.

* * *

Just like every other Christmas morning, Hope woke up before it was light out. A glance at her clock proved that it was just after six in the morning. Not too bad, considering.

Since she knew her father would be awake, she climbed out of bed and tiptoed to her parents' room. Sure enough, when she peeked around the doorjamb, Killian was sitting up in bed with a book open in his lap. Emma was still asleep, undisturbed by the dim light of Killian's bedside lamp.

"Merry Christmas, little love," Killian whispered, a smile on his lips upon spying his little girl.

"Merry Christmas, Daddy," Hope whispered back. Killian patted the empty space beside him on the bed and just like when she was little, Hope climbed up onto the bed and settled down between her parents.

The slight bounce of the mattress roused Emma, who groaned and blinked an eye open.

"Merry Christmas, Mommy," Hope giggled.

"Merry Christmas, kiddo," Emma murmured, giving her little girl a groggy smile. She lay still with her eyes closed for a long moment, then pushed herself up into a sitting position. "I don't suppose you would be interested in going downstairs and seeing what Santa left, would you?"

"I would indeed," Hope grinned.

"All right, let's go."

The family tromped down the stairs. As they passed the kitchen, Hope noted the empty plate and glass. "Looks like Santa came!" she teasingly exclaimed. Killian chuckled and ruffled her messy curls.

In the living room, all three stockings were filled to the brim; Hope could see a couple of candy bars peeking out the tops of each of them. Under the tree was a veritable treasure trove, wrapped presents and unwrapped playsets. Even though Hope knew her parents had done all of this, it still didn't make it any less magical.

And off to the side stood a huge dollhouse, one that was a replica of her house in miniature. "Oh my gosh!" she cried, dashing over to it and dropping to her knees in front of it. "Mommy, Daddy, this is amazing!"

The rooms inside matched the rooms of the big house to a T. A little doll family occupied the living room, a mother, a father, and a little girl. There was even a die-cast yellow Bug stationed out front!

"Killian, that house is breathtaking," Emma said, an amazed smile on her lips. "Did you have Marco do this?"

"I didn't," Killian replied, his tone bewildered. "I thought you did."

"Nope. If you didn't do it and I didn't do it ..." Emma trailed off. "Hope, is there a tag on the dollhouse?"

Hope searched the house and found a gift tag tucked into the roofing shingles. Her eyes widened as she read the tag: "To: Hope. From: Santa."

This was _not_ her mother's handwriting. A frowning Emma stepped forward and plucked the tag from her daughter's hand. She examined it a moment before handing it over to her husband. "I don't recognize the handwriting. Do you?"

"No, love, I don't."

All of a sudden, Hope caught a glint of silver out of the corner of her eye. Tucked up against the wall beside the tree were two large, flat packages wrapped in silver paper. None of the other presents were wrapped in silver paper. She crawled over to the presents to get a better look.

One package was to her mother and the other was to her father. Both were from Santa, the tags written in the same fancy scrawl that hers was. "Mommy, Daddy, look at this!"

Killian grabbed both packages and handed Emma's to her. They glanced at each other, confusion and wonder etched into their features.

The anticipation was just too much for Hope. "Come on, open them!"

Killian unwrapped a painted portrait of him and Liam. Emma's present was a painted portrait of her entire family.

Tears filled both their eyes. "Every year I wish I could see Liam," Killian whispered. "I don't even have a photograph of him. This is unbelievable."

"Every year while I was growing up, I wished for a family," Emma said, running a tender hand down the portrait. "And now look. I have more family than I know what to do with."

It may have been decades later but they finally got their wishes.

"Wow," Killian said, echoing everyone's inner thoughts.

"You can say that again," Emma murmured.

Hope looked from one parent to the other. "I guess Santa Claus came to town?"

Both her parents chuckled, blinking back their tears. "Yeah, kiddo," Emma smiled. "I guess so." She carefully set the portrait down and wrapped her little girl in a tight hug. "Thank you for giving me this magic Christmas."

Hope beamed. "You're very welcome, Mommy."


End file.
